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  • Artist2026 ✝Bobby MurraySan Francisco then Detroit-area electric blues guitarist who recorded with Albert Collins, Albert King, Johnny “Guitar” Watson and a dozen other blues notables over the years; best known for playing in Etta James’ backing band for 23 years starting in 1988; also played on B. B. King’s Grammy-winning LP, Blues Summit and released five solo albums, the last, Love Letters From Detroit in 2021; continued to perform in Detroit clubs fronting his own bands until just before dying from undisclosed causes on 4/30/2026, age 72.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Beverley MartynSinger, songwriter and guitarist on the London folk scene in the 60s; fronted The Levee Breakers jug band and released several non-charting singles in the mid-60s as Beverley, one of which, “Happy New Year” (1966), was written by Randy Newman and featured Jimmy Page and Nicky Hopkins as session players; dated Paul Simon, appeared on Simon & Garfunkel’s album Bookends (1966) and performed at the legendary Monterrey Pop Festival in 1967; married folk singer/songwriter John Martyn in 1970 and released two albums with him that year, but divorced in 1980 and dropped from the music world to raise her children; returned with a first solo album, No Frills in 1998 and a second, The Phoenix and the Turtle, in 2014 which included the previously unreleased Nick Drake co-write “Reckless Jane;” died at home from undisclosed causes on 4/27/2026, age 79.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Wayne MossGuitarist, songwriter, record producer, and owner of Cinderella Sound recording studio in Nashville; as a top session musician played on Tommy Roe’s “Sheila” (#1, 1962), Roy Orbison’s “Oh, Pretty Woman” (#1, 1964), Bob Dylan’s “I Want You” (#20, 1966), Tammy Wynette’s “Stand By Your Man” (#19, Country #1, 1968), Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” (#60, Country #1 1974) and on other hits and albums by dozens more top rock and country artists; co-founded progressive country-folk-rock Area Code 615 in the late 60s with ten other top sessionmen, and later fronted innovative country-rock Barefoot Jerry ("You Can't Get Off with Your Shoes On,” #109, 1975) with three other 615 veterans; was the last original member of Barefoot Jerry at the band’s dissolution in 1980; continued to engineer and produce records at Cinderella until just before his death from undisclosed causes on 4/20/2026, age 88.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Craig KrampfSession drummer and sometime record producer in Los Angeles and then Nashville over a decades long career; worked with dozens of top acts from Alabama (five albums) to Kim Carnes (seven albums), Nick Gilder’s “Hot Child In The City” (#1, 1978), on “Only The Lonely” by The Motels (#9, 1982), Melissa Etheridge’s “Bring Me Some Water” (Mainstream #10, 1989) and others; co-composer of “Oh Sherrie” (#3, 1984) and “Strung Out” (#40, 1984) for Steve Perry’s debut album, and “I’ll Be Here Where the Heart Is” for the Flashdance soundtrack LP (#1, 1983); produced albums for rocker Ashley Cleveland (Big Town, 1991) and Americana group Disappear Fear (Bus Named Desire, 1994), among a handful of others; died in Nashville from undisclosed causes on 4/17/2026, age 80.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Patrick Campbell-LyonsIrish singer-songwriter and co-founder, with Alex Spyropoulos, of the British psychedelic-pop duo Nirvana; the pair’s whimsical, baroque arrangements became a hallmark of the late-1960s London pop music scene; signed to Chris Blackwell’s Island Records as the label’s first non-reggae act and released The Story of Simon Simopath (1967), widely considered one of rock’s earliest concept albums; issued three charting singles, including the lush, orchestral hit “Rainbow Chaser” (#34 UK, 1968) featuring innovative studio phasing; after Spyropoulos’s departure in 1971, carried the Nirvana name forward for two more albums before releasing three solo albums by 1983; reformed the duo in 1985 and continued to tour and record into the 00s, along the way suing the Seattle-based grunge band of the same name and settling out of court, with both bands continuing to use the name; battled a form of melanoma for 12 years and succumbed to the disease on 4/13/2026, age 82.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Harry KimClassically-trained Korean-American trumpeter; cut his teeth on tours with R&B revues, Big Bands and salsa groups in the 70s, and recorded with Stevie Wonder, Smokey Robinson and other Motown acts before joining the Phenix Horns, Earth, Wind & Fire’s horn section, in 1986; was recruited to Phil Collins’ backing band for the …But Seriously album (#15, UK #1, 1989) and toured and performed with Collins for decades thereafter, including as the arranger and trumpeter for The Phil Collins Big Band in the late 90s and 00s; also toured and recorded with French pop superstar Johnny Hallyday in the 00s and 10s, and was horn section leader and arranger for TV music variety program American Idol and others in the late 00s; died from cancer on 4/10/2026, age 74.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝BlondyGrocery store worker and high school cheerleader turned pioneering hip-hop vocalist who helped lay the foundation for female emcees as a founding member of rap trio The Sequence; teamed with Cheryl "The Pearl" Cook and Angie B (Angela Brown) to form the first all-female group signed to the legendary Sugar Hill Records; the group's debut "Funk You Up" (R&B #15, 1979) was the first rap single released by a female group and a foundational track in the genre's history; continued to bridge the gap between disco, funk, and nascent hip-hop on tracks like "Funky Sound (Tear the Roof Off)" (R&B #39, 1981) and "I Don't Need Your Love (Part One)" (R&B #40, 1981); disbanded in the late-80s but remained active in the background as a concert producer and artist manager, including as Stone’s personal assistant; died in a hospital from septic shock after a brief illness on 4/6/2026, age 66.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Donn LandeeSound engineer and record producer in Los Angeles beginning in the mid-60s at TTG and Sunwest studios; joined Warner Bros. Records in the late-60s as staff engineer and worked on dozens of albums by Little Feat, Van Morrison and many others, often alongside famed producer Ted Templmen; was primary engineer on seven straight albums by The Doobie Brothers from Toulouse Street (#21, 1972) to chart-topping Minute by Minute (#1, 1979); served as "fifth member" and engineer, and later co-producer for Van Halen on every album from the 1978 debut through 1984, designed and helped build Eddie Van Halen’s 5150 Studios next to his home in the Hollywood Hills and supervised the recording of 1984 (#2, 1984), 5150 (#1, 1986) and OU812 (#1, 1988) there at the peak of the band’s popularity; following a split with Van Halen in 1989 spent the ensuing decades remastering several Van Halen albums as well as other artists for reissues and retrospective collections; died from natural causes on 4/05/2026, age 79.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Fred SimonBass vocals and co-founder, alongside his brother Lowrell, of Chicago soul quintet The Lost Generation; the group scored five R&B hits on the Brunswick label, including the smooth crossover single "The Sly, Slick And The Wicked" (#30, R&B #14, 1970); following the group's mid-70s dissolution and a short stint with vocal group Mystique, restarted as The New Lost Generation and continued to tour and perform the original group’s music for close to three decades; joined the touring lineup legendary The Chi-Lites in 2014 and contributed bass vocals to performances of timeless classics "Have You Seen Her" (#3, 1971) and "Oh Girl" (#1, 1972) until the final year of his life; died from undisclosed causes on 4/3/2026, age 74.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝James GadsonRenowned R&B/soul drummer, bandmember and top session musician; appeared on hundreds of recordings over a five-decade career starting in the mid-60s as a member of Charles Wright & the Watts 103rd Street Rhythm Band (“Express Yourself,” #12, 1970) before joining Bill Withers' backing band for Still Bill (1972), Live at Carnegie Hall (1973) and the hits “Lean on Me” (#1, 1972) and “Use Me” (#2, 1972); became one of the most prolific session musicians ever, anchoring the groove for Marvin Gaye (“Let's Get It On,” #1, R&B #1, 1973), The Jackson 5 (“Dancing Machine,” #2, R&B #1, 1974), and Diana Ross (“Love Hangover,” #1, R&B #1, 1976) and scores of other soul hits; transitioned to disco and pop, contributing to The Bee Gees' Spirits Having Flown (1979) and later collaborating with modern artists like Beck, Amos Lee and Paul McCartney; remained an active force in the Los Angeles session scene through the 10s before retiring in 2021; suffered from health challenges following a fall and died recovering from back surgery on 4/2/2026, age 87.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Suki LahavIsraeli violinist and singer originally with the Israeli band The Red House Ensemble, moved to New York in 1971 with husband, Louis, who became Bruce Springsteen's sound engineer in 1972 and introduced his wife to Springsteen; joined the E Street Band as backing vocalist and violinist in late 1972, sang the choir vocals on "4th of July, Asbury Park (Sandy)" (1974) and played violin on tours, most notably the live arrangements of "Jungleland" and "Lost in the Flood;" returned to Israel in 1975 but rejoined Springsteen onstage in Israel in 1988 for a performance of "The River;” enjoyed a two-decade career writing songs, screenplays and novels, penning hits for top Israeli artists, and winning the prestigious Yad Vashem Award for her literary work; died from cancer on 4/1/2026, age 74.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Don SchlitzGrammy Award-winning country and pop music songwriter; wrote or co-wrote twenty-one Country #1 hits for a variety of artists, including “The Gambler” (#16, Country #1, 1979) for Kenny Rogers, “Forever and Ever, Amen” (Country #1, 1987) for Randy Travis, and “When You Say Nothing at All” (Country #1, 1988) for Keith Whitley; commissioned by then US President George H. W. Bush to write a theme song for his Points of Light program, the song "Point of Light" (Country #3, 1991) became another hit for Travis; issued solo albums in 1980, 2001 and 2010; inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2017 and died in a Nashville hospital after an aneurysm on 4/16/2026, age 73.Read more
  • Artist2025 ✝Ronnie “Shorty Rogers” WoodbridgeOriginal lead singer for Merseybeat legends The Searchers in 1959, left in 1960, relocated to Edinburgh and performed in residency in front of the 11-piece Nat Allen Orchestra at the famed Palais de Danse under the stage name Shorty Rogers, formed his own band in the late 60s and blended rock, country and pop ballads with comedy and showmanship on the Scottish club scene over the next 50 years, died from undisclosed causes on 6/19/2025, age 84.Read more
  • Artist2025 ✝Marcia ResnickFine arts photographer in the 70s turned chronicler of rock music’s New York nightclub scene in the 80s and beyond, best known for her “Bad Boys” collection of images of Iggy Pop, Joey Ramone, John Belushi, Mick Jagger, and others included in her Punks, Poets, and Provocateurs: New York City Bad Boys, 1977-1982 (2015), died from lung cancer while in hospice care on 6/18/2025, age 74.Read more
  • Artist2025 ✝Patti DrewWith her two sisters, Lorraine and Emma, in R&B vocal group The Drew-Vels and the first charting version of “Tell Him” (#90, 1964), following dissolution in 1966 started a solo career and re-recorded “Tell Him” (#85, R&B #22, 1967), with her sisters’ backing vocals, along with three other charting singles in 1968-69, left the industry in 1971 and occasional performed in clubs before dying from unspecified causes on 6/16/2025, age 80.Read more
  • Artist2026 ✝Al GunnSound and guitar technician for Montreal-based New Wave synth-pop Men Without Hats (“The Safety Dance,” #3, 1982); promoted to and toured as bassist with the band in 1985 and appeared on the Live Hats concert film; left in 1991 to operate a luthier business for building and repairing guitars in Montreal for the next 35 years; died from undisclosed causes on 4/13/2026, age 68.Read more
  • Artist2025 ✝Cavin YarbroughOne-half of the 80s urban contemporary duo Yarbrough and Peoples alongside Alisa Peoples, the pair first met at grade school piano lessons and began singing professionally as a twosome in Los Angeles in the late 70s, their debut single, “Don’t Stop The Music” (#19, R&B #1, 1980) was the first of seven total R&B Top 10 hits through the 80s, married in 1987 and started a production company in Dallas, Texas in the late 80s, continued to write and produce music into the 10s, died from heart disease on 6/19/2025, age 72.Read more
  • Artist2025 ✝Douglas McCarthyElectronic music frontman and vocalist in several groups, most notably with electronic body music (EBM) band Nitzer Ebb (“Fun To Be Had,” Dance #5, UK #99, 1990) from 1982 to 20924, also recorded with Terence Fixmer as Fixmer/McCarthy, with Cyrus Rex as DJM/REX, and with several others in the music collective Buckline, along the way releasing a solo album, Kill Your Friends (2012) and collaborating in numerous side projects, developed alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver in 2021 and stopped touring with Nitzer Ebb in 2024, died from the disease on 6/11/2025, age 58.Read more
  • Artist2025 ✝Jim ParkinsonLettering artist and type designer responsible for the hand-drawn logos to Rolling Stone, Esquire, Newsweek and dozens of other magazines in the days before computers, as well as logos for rock bands the Doobie Brothers, Creedence Clearwater Revival, and the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, plus over 40 printer typefaces designed on computers starting in 1990, died from complications of Alzheimer’s disease on 6/27/2025, age 83.Read more
  • Artist2025 ✝Jonathan MayersMusic promoter and co-founder of the Bonnaroo music festival, the annual jam-band music fair held on a Tennessee farm, and Outside Lands, a three-day music fest in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, and later the Clusterfest comedy festival from 2017-20198, left his partners and sued over breach of contract but was dismissed in 2023, died from a heart attack on 6/10/2025, age 51.Read more

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